Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens Review: A Versatile and Budget-Friendly Lens for Your Canon SLR Camera

If you are looking for a versatile, budget-friendly, and high-quality lens for your Canon SLR camera, you should consider the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens. This lens is ideal for portrait, event, concert, street, travel, product, food, and close-up photography, thanks to its short telephoto focal length, fast aperture, and superb image quality. In this article, I will show you the product details, features, benefits, and application of this lens, as well as compare it with some similar products and share some representative product reviews. By the end of this article, you will see why the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens is a must-have for your Canon SLR camera.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens : Camera Lenses : Electronics

Product Details

A close-up view of the front element of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens with the lens cap off

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens is one of Canon’s oldest autofocus lenses still in production. It was first introduced in 1993, but it has remained popular among Canon users for its excellent performance and value. The lens has a simple optical design, consisting of 9 elements in 7 groups, with Super Spectra coatings to reduce ghosting and flare. The lens has a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system, which is fast, quiet, and accurate, with full-time manual override. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0.85m and a maximum magnification ratio of 0.13x. The lens has a filter size of 58mm and a weight of 425g. The lens is not weather-sealed and does not come with a lens hood, which can be purchased separately.

Features and Benefits

The main features and benefits of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens are:

Short telephoto focal length: The 85mm focal length is perfect for creating a flattering perspective of facial features and a natural angle of view. It can also compress the background and foreground, creating a sense of depth and isolation for your subject.

A side view of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens mounted on a Canon SLR camera body

Fast aperture: The f/1.8 maximum aperture enables you to shoot in low-light conditions and create a shallow depth of field, which can blur the background and make your subject stand out. The aperture also has 8 blades, which can produce a smooth and circular bokeh effect.
Superb image quality: The lens delivers sharp and clear images at all apertures, with minimal chromatic aberration, distortion, and vignetting. The lens also has a good contrast and color rendition, making your images look vivid and realistic.
Versatile application: The lens can be used for various types of photography, from portrait and event to product and food. It can also be used for close-up photography, as it can focus as close as 0.85m and produce a decent magnification. The lens is compatible with both full-frame and crop-sensor Canon SLR cameras, although the effective focal length will change according to the crop factor.

Application of the Crowd

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens is suitable for anyone who owns a Canon SLR camera and wants a versatile, budget-friendly, and high-quality lens for their photography needs. It is especially ideal for portrait photographers, who want to capture the beauty and emotion of their subjects with a flattering perspective and a shallow depth of field. It is also great for event, concert, street, and travel photographers, who want to capture the action and atmosphere of their scenes with a fast and reliable autofocus and a bright aperture. It is also useful for product and food photographers, who want to showcase the details and colors of their items with a sharp and clear image quality. It is also a good choice for close-up photographers, who want to explore the macro world with a decent magnification and a smooth bokeh.

Similar Products Comparison

There are many other 85mm lenses available on the market, but how do they compare with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens? Here is a table that shows some of the main specifications and features of some similar products:

Product Name Mount Aperture Image Stabilization Weight Price
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens Canon EF f/1.8 No 425g $499
Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM Lens Canon EF f/1.4 Yes 950g $1,599
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Canon EF f/1.4 No 1,130g $1,199
Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM Lens Canon RF f/2 Yes 500g $599

As you can see, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens is the cheapest, lightest, and most compact among the four lenses. It also has a fast aperture, although not as fast as the f/1.4 lenses. However, it does not have image stabilization, which can be useful for handheld shooting and video recording. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM Lens is the most expensive and heaviest lens, but it has the fastest aperture and image stabilization, making it ideal for professional portrait photographers. The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens is also a professional-grade lens, with a fast aperture and a superb optical quality, but it is the heaviest and does not have image stabilization. The Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM Lens is the newest and most versatile lens, with a macro capability and image stabilization, but it has a slower aperture and is only compatible with Canon mirrorless cameras.

Representative Product Reviews

A rear view of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens showing the metal mount and the electrical contacts

To give you a better idea of what other users think of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens, here are some representative product reviews from Amazon.com:

5 stars: “I love this lens! It is sharp, fast, and produces beautiful bokeh. It is perfect for portraits, especially of kids and pets. It is also great for low-light situations, as it can capture enough light without using a flash. It is easy to use and focus, and the autofocus is quick and accurate. It is also lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry around. It is a great value for the money, and I highly recommend it.”
4 stars: “This lens is very good for the price, but it has some drawbacks. The image quality is excellent, with good sharpness, contrast, and color. The aperture is fast, allowing for a shallow depth of field and a nice bokeh. The autofocus is also fast and quiet, with a full-time manual override. However, the lens is not weather-sealed, and it does not come with a lens hood, which can be annoying. The lens also suffers from some chromatic aberration and purple fringing, especially at wide apertures. The lens also has some focus breathing, meaning that the focal length changes slightly when focusing. Overall, this lens is a great choice for portrait photography, but it is not perfect.”
3 stars: “This lens is decent, but not amazing. The image quality is good, but not great. The aperture is fast, but not very smooth. The autofocus is reliable, but not very consistent. The lens is cheap, but not very durable. The lens is good for beginners, but not for professionals. The lens is okay, but not outstanding.”

Conclusion

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens is a versatile, budget-friendly, and high-quality lens for your Canon SLR camera. It is ideal for portrait, event, concert, street, travel, product, food, and close-up photography, thanks to its short telephoto focal length, fast aperture, and superb image quality. It is also compatible with both full-frame and crop-sensor Canon SLR cameras, although the effective focal length will change according to the crop factor. It is not the best 85mm lens on the market, as it lacks some features like weather-sealing, image stabilization, and a lens hood. It also has some optical flaws like chromatic aberration, distortion, and vignetting. However, it is still a great value for the money, and a must-have for your Canon SLR camera. If you are interested in buying this lens, you can click here to purchase it from Amazon.com. I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. Thank you for reading.

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